Floating bearing.



`G. IvI. BICKNELL & II. II. c. WD

FLOATING BEARING. APPLICATION FILED IuLY I5. Isla.

Patented Apr. 15, 1919I Gea/y f I Half/7 h( Weed.'

GEORGE M. BIGKNELL, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, AND `HUG-H H. C. WEED, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNORS T0 THE CARTER CARBURETER COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

FLOATING BEARING. l

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 15, 1919.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that we, GEORGE M. BICE- NELL and HUGH H. C. WEED, citizens of the United States, and residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne, Michigan, and at St. Louis, in the county of St. Louis, Missouri, respectively, vhave invented 'certain new and useful Improvements in Floating- Bearings, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to attachments for bearings adapted for application to rotating'shafts, and more particularly to shafts which are subjected to high speed rotation. The primary object of the invention is the prevention of the whipping of shafts.

The generally accepted idea of the socalled whipping yis the tendency of high speed shafting to travel, in response to centrifugal force, in a circledarger than the diameter of the shaft. rIhis circular travel is in addition to the rotation of the shaft under applied power. The shafts are ordinarily held in fixed bearings, generally at least two in number, and the'portions of the shaft which are subjected to the whipping action are located between the fixed bearings. The circle of travel of the whipping portions would manifestly be around a center which is the center of the shaft when it is at rest. It will be very readily understood that the whipping action is exceedingly destructive `to the fixed bearings and to the shaft itself.

As before stated, a whipping shaft travels in a circle larger lthan its own diameter. Our conception is that any discouragement of the tendency of the shaft to travel in a true circle, by destroying or retarding its Acontinuity of movement, or impulse in a fixed circular direction, will tend ,to cause the shaft to more nearly assume its normal straight alinement.

The invention is especially adapted for automobile shafting but it is to be clearly understood that it may be advantageously used on any high speed shafts. In automobile drive shafts a very large percentage of the destructive wear on universal joints is occasioned by shaft whipping. This wear .has

caused the adoption of heavier drive shafts, v

of abnormal diameter, which manifestly do not whip to so great an extent, because less resilient, but has occasioned a very material increase in cost of production. These heavier shafts are also objectionable in'that they add to the burden of the universal joint. With the use of our invention, a long drive shaft of normal diameter will show a smaller degree of whipping tendency, and consequently cause less wear upon the bearings, than will a shaft of the same length and of abnormally large diameter.

We have observed that the whipping action is better retarded by opposing unequal resistance to the tendency of the shaft to swlng 1n a circle. A fixed resistance of the tendency to travel to the left, for instance, should be met by either a greater or less resistance to travel to the right. Moreover, 1t 1s obvious that, inorder for the shaft to travel in a circular path, the whipping portion must move upwardly anddownwardly, at some point in the circle. This resistance may be applied as desired, but it is to be noted that, if equal resistance is moderately applled to' movement on all' directions, lthe whippingaction will not be entirely eliminated.

Our invention therefore, by providing unequal resistance to shaft movement in different directions, renders a true circular or whipping movement impossible, offering at the same time no resistance to the rotative movement within the bearings.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, we have illustrated a preferred embodiment of our invention, and have chosen to illustrate the invention applied to the drive shaft of an automobile.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a sectional front view of the device; and

Fig. 2 a sectional side elevation.

The invention comprisesa bracket 1 fixed to any convenient portion of the automobile, such as a cross-member. The bracket yextends toward the shaft 2 and carries a preferably cylindrical member- 3 which surrounds the shaft but is not in contact therewith. Mounted upon the inner periphery of the member 3 is one 0r more spring members 4 which extend adjacent -the shaft, either` longitudinally or laterally thereof.

The operation of the device is clear. The shaft 2 is not provided with any bearing, but is freely rotatable within the member 3. In its tendency to whip, it will contact the spring 4 and its whipping movement be retarded or arrested, While movement in the opposite direction, or away from the spring 4, will be unresisted. It Will therefore be clear that wc have provided means for unequally resisting lateral movement of the shaft in opposite directions. y

It is obvious that in actual practice of the invention, lubricating devices, such as oil cups, should be applied to all points where there is frictional contact. Since these devices form no part of our invention, they are not shown in all instances Where they 'would be necessary. y

Various modifications of the invention may be suggested to those skilled in' the art to Which the invention appertains, but We desire to secure by Letters Patent al1 such embodiments thereof as fall fairly within the scope of the appended claim.

What We claim is A device of the character described comprising, in combination with a rotatable shaft, a member extending adjacent and surrounding the shaft and carrying resilient fingers adapted to contact the shaft in' its lateral whipping movements, thereby presenting an unequal resistance to movement in adirection at an angle to the central line of the shaft, in opposite directions.

In testimoney whereof We alix our sig 30 natures.

GEORGE M. B'ICKNELL. HUGH H. c. WEED. 

